Continuous cigarette rod-making machine



1386- 1968 K. KORBER CONTINUOUS CIGARETTE ROD-MAKING MACHINE 2 Sheets-She M'd d J: 140% AUA M m mm 8/ 20K 3 D J R Filed Oct.

Dec.3, 1968 K. K'CSRBER 3,413,979

CONTINUOUS CIGARETTE ROD-MAKING MACHINE Fi led Oct. 6, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 5

United States Patent Oflice 3,413,979 CONTINUOUS CIGARETTE ROD-MAKING MACHINE Kurt Kiirber, Hamburg-Bergedorf, Germany, assignor to Hauni Werke Korber & C0. K.G., Hamburg-Bergedorf, Germany Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 5,836, Feb. 1, 1960. This application Oct. 6, 1965, Ser. No. 493,321 Claims priority, application Germany, Feb. 2, 1959, H 35,519 The portion of the term of the patent subsequent to July 19, 1983, has been disclaimed 8 Claims. (Cl. 131-84) This is a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No. 5,836, filed Feb. 1, 1960, now Patent No. 3,261,365, issued July 19, 1966.

The present invention relates to cigarette making machines or the like, and particularly to improvements in continuous tobacco rod-making machines and an arrangement thereon for equalizing and/or trimming the surface of the tobacco stream from which the cigarette rod is made.

In order to form a tobacco rod from which cigarettes, cigars or similar rod-shaped articles of substantially uniform weight can be produced, for example, a tobacco rod which is uniform throughout, it is desirable to level or trim the surface of a tobacco stream which is formed by tobacco fed from a distributor or the like. The levelling or trimming operation results in removal of high portions of the tobacco stream and may be carried out in such a way that the removed excess or surplus of tobacco is transferred into the low portions of the tobacco stream or, when there is an excess of tobacco along the entire stream, the trimming removes the high portions entirely from the tobacco stream.

An important object of the invention is to provide a tobacco rod-making machine in which the nonuniform tobacco stream fed by a tobacco distributor to a travelling conveyor belt is trimmed at its exposed surface by a cutting device which may be arranged at a station where the transfer of the tobacco stream from the conveyor belt to a tobacco rod making belt takes place. At this transfer station, there is arranged a grooved transfer member moving in the direction of travel of the tobacco stream, and also a device for compacting the tobacco stream.

Another object of the invention is to provide the tobacco rod-making machine with a novel conveyor which supports and advances an unequalized tobacco stream past a trimming station.

A further object of the invention is to provide a conveyor which allows for compacting or compression of the tobacco stream, at least during but preferably also prior to trimming, so that the trimming operation may be carried out on a compacted or condensed tobacco stream.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a tobacco rod-making machine wherein the contents of the tobacco stream which is advanced past the trimming station are prevented from piling up or from otherwise adversely affecting the trimming operation.

A concomitant object of the invention is to provide a machine of the just outlined characteristics wherein the trimming operation may be carried out while all but one surface of the tobacco stream are supported and confined by travelling conveying elements.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The improved machine itself, however,

3,413,979 Patented Dec. 3, 1968 both as to its construction and its mode of operation, together with additional features and advantages thereof, will be best understood upon perusal of the following-detailed description of certain specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a tobacco rodproducing machine with a trimming device, a portion of the machine being illustrated in section;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view as seen from the line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view as seen in the direction of arrows from the line IIIIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of another tobacco rod-producing machine; and

FIG. 5 is a top plan view as seen from the line V-V of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a tobacco distributor 6 showers loose tobacco particles T upon the horizontal upper strength or run of a driven enless conveyor belt 7 which, as shown in FIG. 2, moves between spaced parallel guide rails 8. The particles T form on the belt 2 a layer or stream of substantially uniform thickness and width. When the layer or stream 9 reaches the right-hand end of the conveyor belt 7, which is trained around rollers 10 and 11 of which at least one is positively driven, the stream is transferred onto an endless rod forming belt 12 by means of a continuously moving transfer conveyor. According to FIG. 1, the transfer conveyor includes a hollow circular disc-shaped wheel 14 provided with a circumferential groove 15 and fixedly attached to a horizontal drive shaft 16. This wheel 14 is installed between the two endless conveyor belts 7 and 112 (FIG. 1). The interior of the wheel 14 is separated from the groove 15 by a circular perforated or foraminous wall 17 forming the bottom of the groove 15 into which the tobacco is fed from the right-hand end of the conveyor belt 7 by a horizontal bridge member 19. Within the upper portion of the wheel 14 is arranged a stationary suction chamber 20 which exerts a suction in that portion of the peripheral groove 15 where a trimming device equalizes the exposed upper surface of the moving tobacco stream.

The trimming device may consist of two star wheels 23 and 23 rotating in a common horizontal plane. The teeth of one star wheel enter with clearance into the spaces between the teeth of the other star wheel, and a circular cutter 24, also rotating in a horizontal plane, is arranged above the two star wheels 23 and 23' and removes the tobacco projecting through the gaps formed be tween the teeth of the two star wheels. The star wheels 23 and 23' and the circular cutter 24 are fixedly attached to the lower ends of vertical shafts 26, 27 and 28, respectively, which are driven by a gearing arranged in a gear box 30. The gearing is operatively connected with a suitable prime mover, such as an electric motor. A similar trimming device is described in the application Ser. No. 3,877, filed on Jan. 21, 1960, by Willy Richter and Werner Ringe, now abandoned.

During the trimming operation, the "tobacco stream 9 moves tangentially of the wheel 14 through the groove 15 and is compacted in this groove 15 by the suction produced in the suction chamber 20 so that, in addition to a compacting of the tobacco a trimming of high portions 9' of the tobacco stream 9 is accomplished, or a trimming of the tobacco to the desired cross section. The trimmed or equalized tobacco stream 9A is then conducted by the bridge member 19a onto the upper stringer of the endless conveyor belt 12 which leads the trimmed tobacco stream 9A, which is also guided by spaced parallel guide rails 8a, to the cigarette rod forming device.

In FIG. 5, three sides of the groove 41 defined by the transfer conveyor are bounded by two horizontally spaced endless belts 31, 32 by the horizontal portion of an end less perforated or foraminous belt 40 forming the bottom wall of the groove. The two endless belts 31 and 32 are trained around rollers 33, 34, 35 and 36 rotating about the axes of vertical shafts 37, 38, 39, 42, respectively, of which at least two, such as 38 and 39 are driven by a suitable gearing operated by the prime mover of the machine. The adjacent vertical runs or stringers of these belts which bound the vertical sides of the groove 41 are parallel to each other and the horizontal portion of the perforated endless belt 40 moves over the open upper side of a compacting device here shown as a suction chamber a. The trimming device 23, 23', 24, 26, 27, 28 and is arranged in the center above the suction chamber 20a and trims the exposed upper surface of the tobacco stream 9 in the groove 41. Bridge members 45 and 45a guide the tobacco stream toward and away from the belt 40, which latter is trained around rollers 46, 47 and 48 of which at least one is positively driven. Suction to the chamber 20a is applied through a duct shown in FIG. 4 as extending downwardly from the bottom of this chamber.

The belts 31, 32 and bridge the gap between the belts 7 and 12, and the belt 7 forms part of the means which feeds the tobacco stream 9 into the groove 41. The upper stringer of the foraminous belt 40 is located in a plane which is substantialy horizontal, and the elements 23, 23', 24 of the trimming device rotate about substantially vertical axes. Due to the fact that the belts 31, 32, 41 are driven in such a way that their tobacco-engaging stringers travel in the same direction and at the same speed, the tobacco stream 9 is properly guided during its travel across the gap between the conveyor belts 7, 12 and past the trimming station.

The groove 41 is of substantially rectangular crosssectional outline because it is bounded by straight stringers of the belts 31, 32, 40. A very important advantage of the machine shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is that all components of the transfer conveyor which come in contact with the tobacco stream 9 in the groove 41 travel at the same speed and in the same direction so that there is no danger of piling up of tobacco prior to or during trimming. The belt 7 feeds tobacco at such a rate that the stream 9 in the groove 41 contains a surplus over that required in the totbacco rod which is obtained by wrapping the equalized stream 9A.

It is clear that the belt 40 may be located at a level above the groove and that the trimming device may trim the tobacco stream from below. In such machines, suction prevailing in the chamber 20a then also serves to hold the tobacco stream 9 against the action of gravity.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features which fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic and specific aspects of my contribution to the art and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within themeaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for continuously forming a tobacco rod, comprising a tobacco distributor, an endless conveyor belt mounted therebeneath to convey a stream of tobacco along a conveyor pathway, a second endless conveyor belt spaced from said first named conveyor belt to form an intervening gap in said conveyor pathway, a transfer conveyor located in said gap between said conveyor belts, said transfer conveyor comprising continuously moving independent side and bottom walls defining between them- 4 selves a tobacco receiving groove for confining the tobacco stream as it traverses said gap, said bottom wall being perforated, driving means for independently and continuously moving said independent side and bottom walls so as to advance the tobacco in said tobacco receiving groove, a suction chamber mounted beneath said perforated bottom wall to exert a suction force on the tobacco confined in said groove during a portion of its travel along said pathway, and a trimming device located above said gap to trim the tobacco during its travel through said gap and above said suction chamber While the tobacco is in a compressed state and is being conveyed along said pathway by said continuously moving side and bottom walls of said transfer device.

2. A continuous cigarette rod making machine, comprising a tobacco distributor, an endless conveyor belt beneath said distributor for receiving tobacco therefrom to form a tobacco stream, a cigarette rod forming conveyor belt arranged in spaced relation from the first mentioned conveyor belt to form a gap therebetween, a transfer conveyor mounted in said gap and including continuously moving independent side and bottom wall portions defining between themselves a tobacco receiving groove for confining the tobacco stream during its continuous movement across said gap, said bottom Wall portion being perforated throughout its entire area, driving means for independently and continuously moving said independent side and bottom walls so as to advace the tobacco in said tobacco receiving groove, a suction chamber beneath said bottom wall portion to exert a suction force on said tobacco stream while confined in said tobacco receiving groove and to compress the tobacco during its travel across said gap, and a trimming device mounted above said gap at a level corresponding to the upper edges of said side wall portions to trim the tobacco while confined in said groove in a compressed state.

3. In a machine for producing a tobacco rod, conveyor means defining an elongated groove having an open side and at least two additional sides, said conveyor means comprising a pair of independent belts respectively having portions each of which extends along one of said additional sides; a feed for delivering a continuous stream of tobacco particles into said groove; drive means including at least two motion transmitting means each associated with one of said pair of independent belts for advancing said independent belts so that said portions thereof move in the same direction, at the same speed, and advance the tobacco stream lengthwise; and a trimming device adjacent to said open side of the groove for equalizing the tobacco stream therein.

4. A structure as set forth in claim 3, wherein one of said independent belts is disposed opposite the open side of said groove and consists of foraminous material, and further comprising suction generating means adjacent to said portion of said one belt opposite said groove to produce an air current which compacts the tobacco stream during travel past said trimming device.

5. A structure as set forth in claim 3, wherein said groove is a straight groove and wherein said open side of the groove is located in a substantially horizontal plane.

6. A structure as set forth in claim 3, wherein said trimming device comprises rotary elements arranged to rotate about substantially vertical axes.

7. A structure as set forth in claim 3, wherein one of said independent belts is disposed opposite said open side of the groove and further comprising means for compacting the tobacco stream in said groove by pressing the stream against said one independent belt so that the stream is trimmed in compacted condition.

8. A structure as set forth in claim 3, wherein said groove is of substantially rectangular cross-sectional outline and said conveyor means comprises three independent belts each of which bounds a different side of said groove.

(References on following page) 5 6 References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS UNITED AT PA 1,179,992 12/1958 France.

764,551 12/ 1956 Great Britain. 2,660,178 11/1953 Rault 131--84 3,030,966 4/1962 Lanore 131 84 5 SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

3,088,467 5/1963 Lanom 13184 J. S. REICH, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A MACHINE FOR CONTINUOUSLY FORMING A TOBACCO ROD, COMPRISING A TOBACCO DISTRIBUTOR, AN ENDLESS CONVEYOR BELT MOUNTED THEREBENEATH TO CONVEY A STREAM FO TOBACCO ALONG A CONVEYOR PATHWAY, A SECOND ENDLESS CONVEYOR BELT SPACED FROM SAID FIRST NAMED CONVEYOR BELT TO FORM AN INTERVENING GAP IN SAID CONVEYOR PATHWAY, A TRANSFER CONVEYOR LOCATED IN SAID GAP BETWEEN SAID CONVEYOR BELTS, SAID TRANSFER CONVEYOR COMPRISING CONTINUOUSLY MOVING INDEPENDENT SIDE AND BOTTOM WALLS DEFINING BETWEEN THEMSELVES A TOBACCO RECEIVING GROOVE FOR CONFINING THE TOBACCO STREAM AS IT TRAVERSES SAID GAP, SAID BOTTOM WALL BEING PERFORATED, DRIVING MEANS FOR INDEPENDENTLY AND CONTINUOUSLY MOVING SAID INDEPENDENT SIDE AND BOTTOM WALLS SO AS TO ADVANCE THE TOBACCO IN SAID TOBACCO RECEIVING GROOVE, A SUCTION CHAMBER MOUNTED BENEATH SAID PERFORATED BOTTOM WALL TO EXERT A SUCTION FORCE ON THE TOBACCO CONFINED IN SAID GROOVE DURING A PORTION OF ITS TRAVEL ALONG SAID PATHWAY, AND A TRIMMING DEVICE LOCATED ABOVE SAID GAP TO TRIM THE TOBACCO DURING ITS TRAVEL THROUGH SAID GAP AND ABOVE SAID SUCTION CHAMBER WHILE THE TOBACCO IS IN A COMPRESSED STATE AND IS BEING CONVEYED ALONG SAID PATHWAY BY SAID CONTINUOUSLY MOVING SIDE AND BOTTOM WALLS OF SAID TRANSFER DEVICE. 